War Inconsistent with the Religion of Jesus Christ

1st. From the character of the King. He was not born like the kings of the earth. He was the Son of the living God and Heir of all things. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost and born of a virgin. His birth was not celebrated with the earthly pomp of princes, but by a few humble shepherds and a choir of angels. His palace was a stable and his cradle a manger. When a child he was not amused with toys, but was about his Father’s business. When he was dedicated to his ministry, it was not by the appointment of kings, or the consecration of bishops, but by the baptism of his humble forerunner, and the descent of the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape like a dove, and a voice from the excellent glory, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” His companions were the despised fishermen of Galilee and the angels of heaven. He was “a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief”; yet he was the eternal Son of the eternal Father. Nature owned his voice and devils trembled at his power; but he was despised and rejected of men. When he fed the hungry multitude, they were gratified with the loaves and fishes and sought to make him a king; but he departed out of the place; for his kingdom was not of this world. When Satan, the god of this world, offered him all the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them if he would only fall down and worship him, he rebuked him with holy contempt and said, Get thee hence, Satan; for his kingdom was not of this world. The Mediator did not intermeddle with the affairs of the governments of this world; for his kingdom was not of this world. When he was solicited to command a brother to divide his earthly substance, instead of complying with the request he only gave a pointed admonition and said, “Man, who made me a judge, or a divider, over you?” When his enemies endeavored to catch him in his words by extorting from him something unfavorable to the laws of Cæsar, Jesus answered them and said, “Render to Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s, and to God the things which are God’s.” When they demanded of him tribute, and that unjustly, according to their own laws, he paid it without a murmur, to set an example of peace and quietness for his disciples. In all things he avoided interfering or meddling with the governments of this world.

2dly. From the representations of the Bible, “The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” The Mediator’s kingdom is founded in right. His scepter is a right scepter. He rules in righteousness. “The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Righteousness is opposed to all injustice, oppression, and cruelty; it regards the rights of God and man; it requires love to the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength, and to our neighbors as ourselves. His kingdom is a kingdom of peace; he is the Prince of Peace. At his birth the angels sang, “Peace on earth, and good will to men.” Peace is opposed directly to all contention, war, and tumult, whether it regards individuals, societies, or nations. It forbids all wrath, clamor, and evil speaking. It forbids the resistance of evil or retaliation, and requires good for evil, blessing for cursing, and prayer for persecution. Our glorious Mediator not only exhibited a pattern of peace in his life but preached peace in the great congregation. His last and richest legacy to his disciples was the gift of peace: “My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” Christ came in the power of the Spirit, and was full of the Holy Ghost. It is the communion of the Holy Ghost which fills the kingdom of heaven with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. “Except a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Finally, we have his own express declaration, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

From what has been said it may be concluded that the Mediator’s kingdom is, in a special sense, the gospel dispensation, or the kingdom of heaven, and that it is not of this world, but spiritual, heavenly, and divine. And this brings us to notice,

III. The laws by which it is governed. It is governed by the same laws which regulate the heavenly hosts. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect,” is the command of our Divine Master. It is the kingdom of heaven. “Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews.” The laws of the Mediator’s kingdom require supreme love to God. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; this is the first and great commandment.” This implies right apprehension of his being and perfections, and supreme love to his word and delight in his law, such as the sweet singer of Israel expressed: O how I love thy law! it is my meditation day and night. It implies unlimited confidence in God and unshaken belief in the testimony he has given of his Son and a spirit of filial obedience to all his precepts.

The laws of the Mediator’s kingdom require love to man: “Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself.” This prohibits rendering to any man evil for evil; but, contrariwise, it demands blessing. It utterly forbids wrath, hatred, malice, envy, pride, revenge, and fighting; but requires, on the contrary, meekness, forgiveness, long-suffering, tenderness, compassion, and mercy. The subjects of the Mediator’s kingdom are commanded to do good to all as they have opportunity; but especially to those of the household of faith. This command extends not only to the gentle and kind but to the disobedient and froward; to friends and to enemies. “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink,” is the command of our Lord. This injunction, it is apprehended, is directly opposed to resisting the oppression of enemies by force. Jesus said, “If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight”; but, instead of avenging wrongs, the explicit direction is “to overcome evil with good.” The Mediator is the only avenger of the wrongs done to his subjects: “For it is written, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, saith the Lord.” In a special manner the subjects of the Mediator must love the brethren. They must visit the widow, the fatherless, and the afflicted, and live unspotted from the world. The Lord accepts every act of kindness done to the brethren as done to himself, and regards every act of injustice, cruelty, and revenge towards them as expressed towards himself. He considers them his own property, the purchase of his blood. He will, therefore, not only be their portion but their defense; a wall of fire round about them and a glory in the midst. The Mediator sits as King upon his holy hill of Zion, and is swaying his scepter in righteousness throughout his vast dominions.

Having very briefly considered what the Mediator’s kingdom in a special manner is, its nature and its laws, we now pass, as was proposed, to make several inferences and illustrations.

1st. If the Mediator’s kingdom is in a special manner the gospel dispensation, and its nature and laws are not of this world, but spiritual, heavenly, and divine, then we may infer that the kingdoms of this world are not united to the kingdom of our Lord, but are opposed to it. If they are not for him, they are against him; and if they gather not with him, they scatter abroad. They must, therefore, be at war with the Lamb; but the Lamb shall overcome them, for he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. The great conflict in our world is between the kingdom of the Mediator and the kingdom of Satan; but the victory is not uncertain. Although the “heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing, the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak to them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.” “Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

The Psalmist, by the Holy Ghost, says of Christ, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Again, “He shall cut off the spirit of princes; he is terrible to the kings of the earth.” Isaiah, by the revealing spirit, had the scenes of futurity opened to his view. He saw the glorious Redeemer marching through the earth in the greatness of his power; for he saw, by prophetic vision, the great day of his wrath appear, and none but his redeemed were able to stand. In view of the dreadful scene his soul was filled with astonishment, and he exclaims: “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in my anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered there was none to uphold: therefore mine arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in my anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.” From this it appears that the nations of the earth will be gathered like the grapes of a vineyard, and cast into the great wine press of the wrath of God Almighty; and the great Redeemer will thresh them in his anger and trample them in his fury. Their destruction must be inevitable if their laws and governments are directly opposed to the Mediator’s kingdom. When he shall come out of his place to shake terribly the nations of the earth, then the earth4 will no longer cover the blood of the slain; for he will make inquisition for blood, and write up the nations. Then he will stain the pride of all glory and bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. The nations will be like stubble before the devouring fire, and will be chased away like chaff before the whirlwind, and no place will be found for them.

The interpretation of the symbols of the four great empires by the prophet Daniel fully confirms this idea. In first describing the vision to Nebuchadnezzar he says: “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” The prophet thus interprets the vision: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter.”

Thus we see that the kingdoms of the world by not submitting to the kingdom of our Lord, but by making war with the Lamb, are devoted to awful destruction, for the Lamb will overcome them. His kingdom will stand, for it is an everlasting kingdom; and of his dominion there shall be no end. The gospel dispensation (or the kingdom of heaven) must remain forever, as it is governed by the same spirit which prevails in the eternal fountain of blessedness himself. It is therefore emphatically called the kingdom of God not only in distinction from the kingdoms of this world but in distinction from all the other dispensations of the church. It is not of this world; it is the kingdom of heaven, – the reign of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

2. If the Mediator’s kingdom is not of this world, but spiritual, heavenly, and divine, and the kingdoms of this world are opposed to it, then we may infer that the kingdoms of this world must belong to the kingdom of Satan. There are but two kingdoms in our world. At the head of one is the Mediator, and at the head of the other is Satan. Satan is the god of this world and reigns without a rival in the hearts of the children of disobedience. He is the prince of the power of the air. All the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them are given to him5 until the time that God shall write up the nations and make inquisition for blood. Then the great battle of God Almighty will be fought, and the beast and the false prophet will be cast into a lake of fire; and Satan will be bound a thousand years; and the saints will take the kingdom and possess it; and wars shall cease from under heaven. After the thousand years Satan will again be let loose, “and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” “And the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Thus it appears that Satan is the mainspring of all warlike powers, and when he is bound wars will cease; but as soon as he is again let loose they will rage. The writer is sensible that this will be a very unpopular doctrine with the men of this world, and with those worldly Christians who are struggling and teasing and panting for the profits and the honors of this world. If it is a fact that the nature and laws of the Mediator’s kingdom are diametrically opposite to the kingdoms of this world, then the inference is irresistible that the kingdoms of this world belong not to the kingdom of our Lord but to the kingdom of Satan; and however unsavory the truth may be, it ought not to be disguised. Satan is the strong man, but the Mediator is the stronger, and he will bind him and spoil his goods. The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. When he shall destroy the rage of the nations and the tumult of the people, then Satan’s goods will be spoiled. When Satan is cast into the bottomless pit, tumult and war will retire with him back to hell; and instead of the blast of the trumpet and the groans of the dying will be heard the shouts of the saints and the songs of the redeemed. Then will be “heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.”

3. If the Mediator’s kingdom is not of this world, and the kingdoms of this world are under Satan’s dominion, then we may infer the great impropriety of the subjects of the Mediator’s kingdom using the weapons of this world and engaging in tumults, wars, and fightings. “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews.” The Jews expected in their Messiah a temporal prince; but because his kingdom was not of this world they crucified the Lord of life and glory. Had he only appeared in the pomp of this world and in the splendor of a temporal conqueror to vanquish the Romans who were in possession of their earthly Canaan and oppressing their nation, they would immediately have rallied round his standard and followed him to earthly conquest and glory. He was apparently too inattentive to their rights and liberties (which the patriots of this world now emphatically call their dearest interests). They said, “If we let him alone, all men will believe on him; and the Romans shall take away both our place and our nation.” It may be asked, Why were the Jews apprehensive, if all men should believe on him, the Romans would take away both their place and their nation? The answer does not appear difficult. They doubtless perceived that both his life and precepts directly opposed rendering vengeance to their enemies; and, on the contrary, demanded nothing less than love to their enemies, good for evil, and blessing for cursing. This they could not endure, as it directly opposed their carnal desires and filled them with malice against the Prince of Peace. They might, with much greater propriety than any nation under the gospel light, have said, “Shall we imbibe this pusillanimous spirit of doing good to those who oppress us and tamely bend our necks to the yoke of tyranny and suffer our dearest interests to be wrested from us without once making a struggle to defend them? Rather, let us arise and fight manfully, and defend our liberties or die gloriously in their vindication.” We say they might, with much greater propriety, have made these declarations than any under the light of the gospel, because they considered themselves under the Mosaic dispensation which had fully tolerated them not only in defensive but offensive war. But when they perceived that the doctrines of the Mediator were calculated to disannul their dispensation and extinguish their carnal hopes (notwithstanding his credentials were divine), their malice was kindled against him, and their vengeance was not satiated until they wreaked their hands in the blood of the Son of God. And we may confidently expect that wherever the same Spirit of Christ lifts up a standard against the same carnal policy and temporal interest there will follow the same spirit of envy, persecution, and revenge which was manifested against the Lord of life and glory. If any man (no matter who) will live godly in Christ Jesus, he shall suffer persecution. The Spirit of Christ is the same now that it was then, and the world is the same, the carnal heart is the same, and the great adversary of souls is the same. Only let it be styled “patriotic” to persecute the followers of the Lamb of God, and we should soon see the heroes of this world drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and probably many would be as conscientious as Paul was while breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus. It is not impossible that when the witnesses6 are slain, their crime may be a refusal to use carnal weapons in defense of their country.

As it is a matter of great practical consequence to know whether the subjects of the Prince of Peace are authorized in any case under the gospel dispensation to use carnal weapons or not, we propose in this inference to be a little more particular. Although it is supposed that the Lord Jesus Christ acted in a threefold capacity, – as God, Man, and Mediator, – yet we have never heard it questioned by Christians that all his conduct as man was to remain a perfect example for his brethren, and all his precepts a perfect rule for their duty. As his kingdom was not of this world, he did not intermeddle with the governments of this world; he only submitted to all their laws which were not contrary to the laws of his heavenly Father. He was meek and lowly; so little did he possess of this world that he had not where to lay his head. He went about continually doing good. He was full of compassion even to his enemies. He wept over Jerusalem. He was finally “brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as sheep before their shearers are dumb, so he opened not his mouth.” When he was reviled he reviled not again, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. He prayed for his murderers and apologized for his persecutors, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” As the church under a former dispensation had divine authority for engaging in war, it is important to ascertain whether this authority was abrogated under the gospel dispensation or not.7 That many things have been tolerated under one dispensation of the church and prohibited under another, most Christians allow. That the preceptive will of God is to be our only rule of duty, few Christians deny. The knowledge communicated to us of the preceptive will of God to his church, under the first dispensation, is very limited. We find, however, no authority for taking the life of man in any case, not even for murder; but, on the contrary, a sevenfold vengeance was pronounced upon him who should slay the murderer. Under the patriarchal dispensation he that shed man’s blood by man was his blood to be shed. In this, defensive war was tolerated. Under the Mosaic dispensation, not only defensive but offensive war was tolerated, and not only war was permitted, but retaliation, as, “an eye for an eye”; “a tooth for a tooth”; “life for life,” etc.

The question to be decided is whether these regulations are still in force, or whether they were disannulled by the gospel dispensation. The life and precepts of our Lord and his disciples while under the unerring guidance of his spirit must be our only authority in this inquiry. That many things were done away by the gospel dispensation, none will deny who believe the gospel. The ceremonial part, which was only a shadow of good things to come, vanished away when the substance appeared; and not only the ceremonial part was abolished, but many other practices. Polygamy was permitted under the law, but forbidden under the gospel. Divorce was allowed under the Mosaic but prohibited under the gospel dispensation, except in the case of adultery. Under the Mosaic dispensation the penalty for whoredom was stoning to death. This penalty was not enforced under the gospel dispensation, as may be seen in John viii. 11. That all kinds of war, revenge, and fighting were utterly prohibited under the gospel dispensation we think appears evident not only from the life of our glorious Mediator but from his express precepts. “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews.” No comment can add force to this passage, for it is apprehended that no language can be more explicit against defensive war.

In Christ’s Sermon on the Mount he quoted a passage from Exodus, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whatsoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” The force of this passage has generally been obviated by saying that we are not to take all the words of our Lord literally. Although this is admitted, yet we are absolutely bound to take the spirit of every word, if we can understand them, by comparing the Scriptures with the Scriptures. That the spirit of this passage is directly opposed to the one our Lord quoted from Exodus, we think cannot fairly be denied; and, of course, it disannulled it, for he who had power to make laws under one dispensation had power to abrogate them under another.

The blessed Mediator did, in the most explicit manner, command his subjects to love their enemies and render good for evil. This command we are of opinion is totally incompatible with resisting them with carnal weapons. He says, “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” Let us for one moment compare this precept with defensive war and see if it can consistently be put into practice. Suppose our country is invaded and a professed disciple of the Prince of Peace buckles on the harness and takes the field to repel by the point of the sword his enemy. He advances amidst the lamentations of the wounded and the shrieks of the dying to meet his foe in arms. He sees his wrath kindled and his spear uplifted, and in this trying moment he hears his Lord say, “Love your enemy and render to him good for evil”; and his kindness to him is like Joab’s to Amasa; he thrusts him through the heart and hurries him to the awful tribunal of his Judge, probably unprepared. Dear brethren, be not deceived; for God is not mocked. Who amongst our fellow-men would receive the thrust of a sword as an act of kindness? Only let conscience do its office, and there will be no difficulty in deciding whether defensive war is inconsistent with the gospel dispensation or not. Carnal and spiritual weapons will no more unite under the gospel dispensation than iron and miry clay.